| Wong's King Seafood Restaurant | |
|---|---|
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_-_3.jpg) Wong's King was housed in King Plaza, pictured in November 2020 after the restaurant closed | |
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| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 2004 (2004) |
| Closed | May 2020 (2020-05) |
| Food type | |
| Street address | 8733 Southeast Division |
| City | Portland |
| County | Multnomah |
| State | Oregon |
| Postal/ZIP Code | 97266 |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 45°30′18″N122°34′23″W / 45.50504°N 122.57301°W /45.50504; -122.57301 |
| Other locations | |
Wong's King Seafood Restaurant (or simplyWong's King) was a chain ofChinese/Cantonese andseafood restaurants in themetropolitan area ofPortland, Oregon, United States.[1][2] In addition to the original restaurant inSoutheast Portland, the business operated inBeaverton,Estacada, andSandy, and specialized indim sum.
Wong's King was established in 2004 and garnered a positive reception. In 2009,Martin Yan named the restaurant as one of ten "great places to welcome prosperity", and it was included inCNN's 2017 list of the 50 best Chinese restaurants in the U.S. In 2018, the Beaverton restaurant was rebranded asLychee Asian Bistro and Noodle House. Wong's King closed in 2020 during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Wong's King was a chain ofChinese/Cantonese andseafood restaurants. The original restaurant was located in thestrip mall King Plaza on Division Street in thesoutheast Portland section of theMontavilla neighborhood,[3] and had a large dining room.[4] The chain's other restaurants were inBeaverton,Estacada, andSandy.[5] The menu featureddim sum and includedchicken feet,congee, crab,[6] dumplings,har gow, noodles,Peking duck, pork barbecued ribs, pork buns, pot stickers, rice cakes, beef rice-noodle rolls[7] andspring rolls,[8]tofu,[9]turnip cakes,[10][11] andwontons.[12][13][14][15]
According toRobin Goldstein, "the family name that's transliterated as 'Wong' is pronounced the same way as the Cantonese word for 'king,' so the restaurant's name is actually a kind of arrogant pun. You might translate it as 'King's King.' Add to this the fact that it's in 'King Plaza,' and you're approaching real delusions of grandeur—the sorts of delusions that sometimes lead restaurants to raise prices and let service slip."[16]
Wong's King was established in 2004. According to Michael Russell ofThe Oregonian, "The restaurant was born out of a small chain of American-style Chinese restaurants with locations in Sandy, Gresham and Southeast Portland, and was 'bankrolled by untold thousands of orders of kung pao chicken,' according to a 2005 review fromThe Oregonian, which called Wong's King Seafood a 'new benchmark for the city'."[17] The Estacada restaurant opened in 1998.[18]
Russell wrote, "The restaurant got an early boost before it opened, when Andy and Fulai Wong won gold medals at the Fifth China International Cooking Contest in China, a competition featuring chefs from 18 different countries."[17] Wong's King has been described as a rival to the defunctOcean City Seafood Restaurant.[19] Employees of Wong's King marched in the first Avenue of Roses parade in 2007.[20][21]
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In September 2011, the Beaverton restaurant was rebranded as Lychee Asian Bistro and Noodle House. Ownership did not change but the restaurant's new menu focused on noodle and rice dishes instead of dim sum.[5][22] Lychee Asian Bistro was replaced by the restaurant Spicy World.[23] In 2018, Wong's King hosted The Asian Reporter Foundation's 20th annual scholarship and awards banquet.[24]
Wong's King closed in 2020 during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[17][25][26] The business had received a $10,000 city-sponsored relief grant[27] but filed for bankruptcy.[28] Jamie Goldberg ofThe Oregonian noted some of the restaurant's employees "struggled to overcome language barriers when navigating Oregon's dysfunctional unemployment benefits system".[29]Excellent Cuisine replaced the Portland restaurant.[19][30][31]
In 2005, Grant Butler ofThe Oregonian wrote:
At last, Portland gets a temple to Cantonese cuisine with the arrival of this large Chinese restaurant. From beginning to end, a meal here can be a voyage of discovery. Focus on the menu's page of chef's recommendations, and you see the kitchen's range. Also check out the daily dim sum, with bargain-priced delicacies – and huge crowds on weekends.[32]
Butler said in 2007:
A bit farther from the city's core, there's terrific dim sum as well as an array of Cantonese delicacies from chef Fu Lai Wong at Wong's King Seafood Restaurant. This is the sort of mammoth restaurant you find in Vancouver, B.C., or Hong Kong. You understand why the dining room is full when the first dishes arrive: Portland has never had cooking quite like this."[33]
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In 2013,The Oregonian's Michael Russell wrote, "The best [steamed BBQ pork buns] I've had in the Portland area ... are the ones at Southeast Portland's Wong's King Seafood, with tender barbecued pork in a sweet soy and oyster sauce".[34] The same newspaper's Mike Rogoway said Wong's King was among "Portland's best-known and most-loved restaurants" in 2012.[35] In 2022, Zane Sparling said the restaurant "rewrote the map for Chinese food in Portland".[36] Kathy Baruffi included Wong's King inUSA Today's 2009 list of 10 "great places to welcome prosperity", as recommended byMartin Yan.[37]
Chinese Restaurant News named Wong's King the third-best Chinese restaurant in the U.S. in 2010. The business was one of ten recipients of the Overall Excellence Award at the magazine's sixth annual Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in the USA Awards, which were presented atThe Venetian Las Vegas.[38][39] Clarissa Wei ranked Wong's King number 37 inCNN's 2017 list of the 50 best Chinese restaurants in the U.S. and said:
Wong's is an authentic dim sum joint in an Asian strip mall where you can get the whole carts-piled-with-steamed-buns-and-dumplings experience ... Despite the long lines, servers are friendly, the food emotes pure Hong Kong goodness and there's no rushing you out the door, an unfortunate practice in too many popular dim sum places. The pork shu mai and steamed buns are customer favorites."[40]
Wong's King was named runner-up in the Best Chinese Restaurant category inWillamette Week's annual readers poll in 2007.[41] The newspaper included Wong's King in a 2014 list of "our 100 favorite restaurants in Portland".[42] Drew Tyson included Wong's King inThrillist's 2014 "guide to Portland's 6 best dim sum spots" and said the business was "probably Portland's most popular Chinese restaurant".[43] The website's Kashann Kilson recommended Wong's King for a "truly authentic dim-sum experience" in 2018.[44]Eater Portland included Wong King's spicy crab in a 2013 list of "the nine must-try Asian dishes on SE 82nd Avenue".[45] In 2022, the same website's Seiji Nanbu andBrooke Jackson-Glidden called Wong's King a "Portland dim sum legend".[46]
Rice cake can be found at restaurants that serve dim sum, such as HK Cafe, Ocean City Seafood Restaurant and Wong's King Seafood Restaurant, as well as at Chinese bakeries or grocery stores ... You can try turnip cake at most restaurants that serve dim sum, including HK Cafe, Ocean City Seafood Restaurant and Wong's King Seafood Restaurant ... Most dim sum restaurants, such as Ocean City Seafood Restaurant, HK Cafe, Wong's King Seafood Restaurant and Jin Wah Restaurant will have spring rolls on their menu... Whole fish can be ordered at Ocean City Seafood Restaurant, Powell's Seafood Restaurant, Pure Spice Restaurant and Wong's King Seafood Restaurant.
Some employees from Wong's King Seafood marched past beneath a massive dragon.
Fu Wong carries the head of the dragon as co-workers from Wong's King Seafood Restaurant weave across Southeast 82nd Avenue on Saturday during the season's first parade honoring the centennial of the Portland Rose Festival. Organizers hope the first-ever event, along a street dubbed '82nd Avenue of Roses,' will become an annual affair.
The list of pandemic restaurant closures year includes many of Portland's best-known and most-loved restaurants, among them Pok Pok, the Cheese Bar, Bistro Montage, Beast, Tasty n Alder, Toro Bravo, Bluehour and Wong's King.
Wong's King Seafood Restaurant: Portland, Ore.: 'This restaurant is Portland's hidden treasure,' Yan says. It's not unusual to see weddings and other important occasions being celebrated at this popular restaurant, especially on weekends. 'The time to dine there is before 11:30 a.m. After that you'll expect to wait in line.'
Bo Ling's, a family chain of seven eateries based in Kansas City, Mo., came in second, and Wong's King Seafood Restaurant in Portland, Ore., took third place.
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